Sharad Malhotra miffed with multiplex owners

TV actor Sharad Malhotra is upset with multiplex owners because of their laxity to give good number of shows to his debut film, Prateek Chakraborty’s Love in Sydney. “These exhibitors aren’t giving newcomers a chance, no wonder our family romantic comedy had to be pushed from a 3 August release to 31 August,” he says. The trade was abuzz with news that the film might release on 24 August, but Sharad remains non-committal on that. “Please speak to my producer, director and co-star about the same. I just know that we will hit the theaters on 31st along with Akshay Kumar’s Joker,” he quips. But will this not harm your film’s chances since Raaz 3D will also arrive the following week? “I believe every film has a chance if it gets a big enough release. The film has four other newcomers like Bidita Bag, Evelyn Sharma, Karan Sagoo and TV star Reshmi Ghosh besides Prateek. We all have worked very hard and the music boasts of some great scores (Mohit Chauhan’s Ho Jaayega and Mika‘s Khatkaa Khatkaa) as a further attraction. This film also marks the return of our distinguished banner Pramod Films (Love in Tokyo, Tum Se Aacha Kuan Hai and Deedar) after 14 long years,” Sharad observes. Remind Sharad, who gained prominence with Banoo Main Teri Dulhann on the small screen, that multiplexes will only screen a film based on its star power and buzz and he remarks, “Every star was a newcomer once. We fresh faces need all the support of the industry to make our mark. If a film is taken off if it does not do well in the opening weekend, it makes sense but at least give it a fair chance,” the actor maintains. Sharad rejects the argument that newcomers don’t sell! “Was Ayushman Khurana known before Vicky Donor?” He also feels that show timings need to be given in accordance with the genre of the film. “A film like Love in Sydney, unlike sex comedies, will not work at a 10 am show. We need shows in the evening when an entire family can watch it. This was one of the main reasons why our project got delayed but now I hear everything is settled and we have good decent number of shows from the month end,” he concludes.